Masakage Shimo Honesuki

With its triangular shaped tip and a significantly thicker blade than most other knives the Honesuki is designed to make short work of boning chicken, pheasant, duck or any other poultry you're working on. Please don't cut through the bones though, it's strictly for stripping meat from the bone!

What we thought about this knife

We have personally tested and reviewed this knife to give you an honest and personal opinion about it and this is how it rates. Remember these scores are a reflection of the company these knives keep, all our knives are great (or we wouldn't sell them) but we can't give them all 5/5. A low score doesn't mean it's a poor knife, it just might be out-trumped by one of our other amazing knives.

5 / 5Overall performance

Top notch performance as you'd expect from a knife of this level, the Shirogami #2 steel keeps its edge very well and the thin blade runs through various food types very easily and consistently.

5 / 5Beauty

There's no doubt this is a lovely knife. "Shimo" represents a design of frost on a window and indeed the blacksmith Kurosaki san even created a custom X shaped hammer to create the unique shape on the blade.

5 / 5Durability

The hard blade will keep its edge for a long time and last longer between sharpening than many other knives although as it's a thin cutting edge there's a compromise to be struck between that sharpness and cutting with care and attention.

3 / 5Ease of care

The Shimo is not a stainless knife and if not kept dry between uses it will develop a yellow patina across the blade. This doesn't affect the use of the knife but it is a consideration, if this concerns you then maybe look for a knife that is clad in stainless steel.

5 / 5Comfort

Light, thin and comfortable with a range of jobs, we had no concerns about using this for a range of tasks.

4 / 5Value for money

In our opinion the Shimo represents a great balance between quality, looks and price so is a great investment if it's your first Japanese knife but is also perfectly at home in experienced hands that want something that stands out in a collection.

Our aim is to measure everything as accurately as possible but some specifications (such as hardness for example) are provided by the manufacturer and therefore should be used as a guide only.

What you get with the knife

Beautiful blue fibre boxes with the Masakage logo and name in silver foil on the lid. On the inside you will find a blue stepped inlay and your beautiful knife of course, wrapped in Japanese newspaper by the craftsmen who made it.

So while not working on your knife skills you can catch up your Japanese language skills. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving...

All our knives also come with free blue plasters just in case you're not ready for the sharpness! If you intend to use your knives regularly then we don't advise you to use the boxes for day to day storage, get a magnetic knife rack instead.

What is a Chef knife?

The most important and frequently used knife in your kitchen. Versatile enough to take on 90% of the cutting work in your home or the pro kitchen. To any chef this knife is like an extra limb.